Thinking of the large bow hanging on the wall of my current room, I couldn't help but feel dejected. "But the bow is too big..."
I had tried to take that bow down before, but once I did, I simply couldn't draw it. It really frustrated me.
Unexpectedly, Yu Chi Cheng said, "Female archers use women's bows. You'll surely be able to handle one."
My dejection vanished instantly. I grabbed his clothes and said, "Great! Let's go right now!"
Yu Chi Cheng laughed again, but instead he took my hand and ran northward.
Together, we ran through more than half of the North Cold Palace. Once again, I completely forgot about keeping a low - profile...
When we arrived at the female shooting range, it was empty, which made me feel extremely happy.
Yu Chi Cheng picked out the smallest bow for me. I couldn't help but glare at him. "Do you think I'm a child? This... this bow is clearly a toy!"
"Aren't you a child?" Yu Chi Cheng said, trying hard not to laugh.
"You're the child. Your whole family are children!"
Just as I finished speaking, I saw my aunt come out in military uniform. Hearing what I said, her face froze. She turned around and went to another shooting area. "You two, carry on..."
I felt like crying. Yu Chi Cheng, however, burst into laughter.
I couldn't help but kick him hard. I heard him yell "Ouch!" and then he hopped around, holding his leg.
"Come on, stop pretending. Get me a bigger one," I said impatiently, poking him.
So he hopped over while still holding his leg, and picked out an extremely large bow for me. I took one look at it and didn't even want to touch it. I said with a black line on my forehead, "It's too big. I can't draw it."
He said "Oh" and continued looking. Finally, he pulled out a bow of a proper size. I happily took it, but as soon as he let go, I regretted it...
"I..." I gasped for breath as I looked at him. He raised his eyebrows and looked extremely relaxed. "How is it?"
"Why is it so heavy!" As soon as I said that, I bent down to the ground along with the bow.
Yu Chi Cheng said, "I just want to tell you that you can't judge a bow by its appearance... Actually, that big bow I showed you earlier is very light. You can definitely draw it..."
Hearing this, I put down the bow and went to hit him. But he quickly shouted, "Mother, save me!"
I was so angry that my teeth itched. I took out a non - poisonous gold needle and stabbed him hard. Immediately, he opened his mouth, his face froze in pain, but he just couldn't let out a scream of "Pain!"
"How about it? Does the gold needle feel good?" I asked him with an innocent smile. I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "The best thing about the gold needle is that when you pull it out after stabbing, there's no wound. You can't even complain to anyone..."
"You!" He looked at me pretending to be in pain.
"What about me?" I continued looking at him. A few loose strands of my hair happened to flutter onto his face because of the wind.
He wiped his cheek. Suddenly, he put away his playful mood, stood up straight and said, "Actually, it's okay. Let's go practice archery."
I watched in surprise as he stood up as if nothing had happened. He just smiled, then picked out a proper bow for me. "Let's start with the stationary targets..."
"Are you... really not in pain?" I leaned forward and asked.
"Really not in pain." He grinned and started to rub my face. "Do you want to practice archery or not?"
I quickly broke free from his hands, took the bow he had chosen for me and said, "Yes! Yes!"
He immediately taught me the most basic postures and the secrets of applying strength.
I looked curiously at his serious face. Suddenly, I found that this guy was really a freak!
Archery became anything but boring with Yu Chi Cheng around.
However, every time I saw him hitting the bull's - eye while my arrows went every which way, I felt extremely unbalanced.
Later, I simply stopped using the bow and just threw an arrow out. Unexpectedly...
Ding Dong! It hit the bull's - eye!
Yu Chi Cheng was completely helpless. He stood behind me and held the bow and arrow for me, then drew the bow and shot. A miracle happened! My arrow almost hit the bull's - eye...
Yu Chi Cheng adjusted my position while saying, "The tip of the arrow should be tilted slightly upwards. You should aim not at the center of the target, but at a point above it. Since you can't ensure that your arrow will stop instantly, it will definitely fall during flight."
"Got it!" I nodded vigorously. Then I asked him to step aside and got eager to try. I didn't expect that after aiming like this, I shot much better than before. Yu Chi Cheng then showed an expression of approval and said, "Don't rush. Take your time."
I nodded and suddenly felt extremely confident!
But after only two or three days of practice, blisters formed on my hands from the bowstring. Yu Chi Cheng mocked me for being delicate on one hand, but on the other hand, he personally applied medicine on my hands. The tenderness in his care was just like that of my father. My affection for him increased instantly. However, after only one day of rest, I excitedly went back to practice archery. Yu Chi Cheng just shook his head with a bitter smile, but silently accompanied me.
Somehow, Ao Qing found out about this. So there was suddenly an extra person at our practice ground, which made me very uncomfortable. But it seemed that she had been severely scolded by her father, and she looked much more dejected.
At that time, my archery skills improved rapidly under Yu Chi Cheng's guidance, but I was still not as sharp as Ao Qing. Well, I admit that hard work can make up for lack of talent.
"What, after just a few days of practice, you think you can go hunting in the hunting ground? Do you really think you're a genius?" Ao Qing snorted at me when Yu Chi Cheng went to get water for me.
I just smiled and didn't say a word.
Then she said again, "By the way, I've told my father that I'll also go to the hunting in the Red Desert. Will you dare to compete with me then?"
I disdainfully snorted and said, "Competing with you would simply be a disgrace to my taste."
"You!" She suddenly got angry and pointed an arrow at me. I wiped the arrow I was going to use and calmly replied, "What? Do you want to kill me again? But unfortunately, Brother Cheng is nearby and will be back soon."
Ao Qing glanced behind me, then moved the arrow away and said fiercely, "Don't be too arrogant!" Then she quickly shot an arrow at the target, hitting the bull's - eye.
I looked at the powerful arrow she shot, pursed my lips, and continued to wipe my arrow. At this time, Yu Chi Cheng came over with a bag of water. Seeing this, I ran up to him and said, "Brother Cheng, you've worked hard. Drink this water first."
Yu Chi Cheng looked at me curiously. I smiled at him, enthusiastically pulled out the cork of the leather bag, and held the water up to his mouth.
He took a symbolic sip and then said to me, "Xi He, this water is for you. I've just drunk some."
I laughed merrily. "It doesn't matter. What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine. Brother Cheng, come and teach me a new practice method. Didn't you say there are also live targets?"
Yu Chi Cheng looked at the disgruntled Ao Qing beside us and suddenly understood. He got used to my enthusiasm and said, "Okay, let's change the venue."